System and method for creating and navigating a linear hypermedia resource program

ABSTRACT

A method and system for creating and navigating linear hypermedia resource programs are disclosed. The system includes a distributed hypermedia resource network having a plurality of hypermedia resources residing on one or more remote information nodes. A common remote information node is in communication with a subscriber station and the remote information nodes in the distributed network. The common remote information node contains at least one linear hypermedia resource program consisting of pre-selected media elements from one or more hypermedia resources linked with exclusive linear links, each media element in the linear program having only one forward link to the next media element. The method includes the steps of downloading and displaying a media element in the linear program and responding to user commands to download and display the next media element in the linear program.

CROSS REFERENCES TO PRIORITY APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.10/884,187, filed Jul. 1, 2004, now U.S. Pat No. 7,216,155, which is acontinuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/964,104, filed Sep. 26,2001, now Pat. No. 6,779,026, which is a continuation U.S. applicationSer. No. 09/680,899, filed Oct. 6, 2000, now Pat. No. 6,330,596, whichis a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/167,514, filed Oct. 6,1998, now Pat. No. 6,145,000, all of which are incorporated herein byreference in their entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The World Wide Web (the “Web”) provides an alternative source ofinformation for consumers and business users. Some users also view theWeb as a source of entertainment. Surfing the Web, cybercafes, etc.appeal to the sophisticated Web user as a way of having a good time.

Many Americans raised in the television age view entertainment as aserial event. Specifically, generations of viewers have experiencedtelevision shows, movies, radio programs, and concerts which all proceedlinearly from a beginning to an end. Some potential Web users of thisgeneration view surfing the Web as intimidating from perhaps tworespects: (1) the use of technology; and (2) the increasinglyunorganized, virtually unlimited number of choices that are available.The Web is not inherently a linear entertainment medium. A Web user maytypically go directly from any given site to a large number of othersites. At best, some websites provide links to similar sites, howeverthey typically do not offer more than a cursory indication of what thelinked sites contain.

In addition, even sophisticated Web users are often frustrated by theamount of useless, undesirable material that appears on the Web. Take,for example, a user who wishes to look at pictures of classicautomobiles. A search on classic automobiles may yield 10,000 hits. Awebsite-by-website search for interesting material may yield many sitesthat do not meet the user's expectations as to the content, propertiesor quality. Some sites may be a single page that prompts a user to ordera catalog. Other sites may have text but no pictures.

Accordingly, there is a need for creating entertaining Web programs thatappeal to a wide cross section of potential viewers.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram of a system for use in creating and navigating alinear hypermedia resource program according to a preferred embodiment.

FIG. 2 illustrates hypermedia resources that may reside on informationnodes in the distributed hypermedia network of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 diagrammatically illustrates a linear hypermedia resource programand the selected base media elements in each of the desired hypermediaresources of the hypermedia resource data network.

FIG. 4 illustrates a user interface for use in navigating a hypermediaresource program in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram of a method for navigating a linear hypermediaresource program.

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram illustrating an alternative method fornavigating a linear hypermedia resource program in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 illustrates a user interface for prompting a user for anexperience level in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 8 illustrates a method of generating a linear hypermedia resourceprogram utilizing the system of FIG. 1 in accordance with one embodimentof the present invention.

FIG. 9 illustrates an alternative embodiment of a method of generatinglinear hypermedia resource program.

FIG. 10 is a flow diagram illustrating a third embodiment of a methodfor generating a linear hypermedia resource program.

FIG. 11 is a flow diagram illustrating a fourth embodiment of a methodfor generating a linear hypermedia resource program.

FIG. 12 is a flow diagram of a method for generating a linear hypermediaresource program in billing a user.

FIG. 13 diagrammatically illustrates one preferred embodiment ofnavigating a linear hypermedia resource program.

FIG. 14 diagrammatically illustrates one preferred embodiment of amethod for creating a linear hypermedia resource program.

FIG. 15 illustrates an alternative embodiment for of a method forcreating a linear hypermedia resource program.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PRESENTLY PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present invention addresses the need for creating and navigatingentertaining Web programs that filter out unwanted information andpresent desired information in a series of linearly linked websites. Inone embodiment of the present invention, a user starts with the firstsite and in a guided tour fashion, when finished, is directedexclusively to the second site. When done with the second site, the useris directed exclusively to the next site, etc. The progression of sitesdefines a programmed linear hypermedia resource path that is gearedtowards the entertainment of the user. Users may also implement thesystem and method described in more detail below for educationalpurposes or as a research tool.

Referring to FIG. 1, a system 10 for use in navigating and generating alinear hypermedia resource program is shown. The system 10 includes adistributed hypermedia data network 12 having a plurality of informationnodes 14 and a common remote information node 16 all in communicationwith each other. A subscriber station 18 is in communication with thecommon remote information node 16 over a communication line. In oneembodiment, the distributed hypermedia data network 12 may be the Webwhere the information nodes and common remote information node 14, 16are servers, memory devices, personal computers, or the like that arecapable of storing, processing, and exchanging data with otherinformation nodes. The subscriber station 18 may be a personal computeror other device having capability of communicating with the commonremote information node 16 and presenting audio, visual, or tactileinformation received from the common remote information node 16.

As shown in FIG. 2, each information node may contain a plurality ofhypermedia resources 20. Each hypermedia resource 20 contains aplurality of individual media elements 22, including a base mediaelement 24, that are associated by an indexed tree 21. In oneembodiment, each hypermedia resource 20 may be a website on the Web. Thebase media element 24 can comprise a selected Web page of the websitethat serves as a logical entry point to the website. The plurality ofother media elements 22 can include the additional pages of the websitealong with other media that may include audio and video clips and,optionally, tactile records that are convertible to tactile informationby means of a user interface device that includes tactile or forcefeedback. Each of the information nodes 14 in the distributed hypermediadata network 12 may contain one or more hypermedia resources 20.

Unlike a typical search result from an Internet search engine on theWeb, a linear hypermedia resource program includes a selected group ofmedia elements that are associated by a series of exclusive forward andbackward links that are, in one embodiment, accessible at all times asthe hypermedia resources are browsed. FIG. 3 pictorially represents anembodiment of a preferred linear hypermedia resource program in thecontext of the media element or elements in hypermedia resourcesconnected by the linear hypermedia resource program 23. As shown in FIG.3, a linear program may include a selected base media element from eachof a number of hypermedia resources of interest. Each base media element24 is placed in a particular program element 25 in the linear hypermediaresource program 23 such that the program will move the user betweenhypermedia resources in a predetermined manner along an exclusive chainof linear links 27, each selected base media element having oneexclusive forward link and one exclusive backward link. Each programelement 25 maybe a media element 22 from a hypermedia resource 20. Inone embodiment, the program element 25 maybe the universal resourcelocator (URL) for each selected media element 24. In an alternativeembodiment, each program element 25 may be the entire content of a basemedia element 24.

Preferably, the program elements 25 of a linear hypermedia resourceprogram 23 are stored in the common remote information node 16controlled by the internet service provider used by a subscriber at asubscriber station 18 (FIG. 1). To accelerate the accessibility of eachprogram element in a linear hypermedia resource program, each programelement is preferably fully cached in the common remote information nodeso that all the information of the media element comprising each programelement is retrieved prior to executing the linear hypermedia resourceprogram. In this manner, variations in communication speeds between thecommon remote information node 16 and the information nodes 14containing selective hypermedia resources are minimized. As mentionedabove, each media element making up a program element may containtextual, visual, audio and tactile information. The program elements 27of the linear hypermedia resource program may each come from a differenthypermedia resource, the same hypermedia resource, or a combination ofthe two.

FIG. 4 illustrates a preferred embodiment of a user interface operableby a user at a subscriber station 18 to view a linear hypermediaresource program. Preferably the user interface 28 comprises acollection of areas 30, 32, 34 that each provide a user with separatefunctionality. A map area 30 displays information representative ofmedia elements in the linear program for all or a portion of the mediaelements 22 in the order arranged in the linear hypermedia resourceprogram. This information representative of the media elements that makeup the program elements of the linear program may be text, icons,graphical depictions or other indicators capable of conveying thesubject of the represented media element. The map area 30 may displaythe entire linear path comprised of all the elements in the linearprogram or simply a linear segment 31 of the entire linear path. Adisplay area 32 shows the contents of a selected media element in thelinearly linked chain of the hypermedia resource program. A command area34 preferably contains backward and forward directional buttons 36 thatallow a user to send signals to the common remote information node tochange the media element displayed in the display area 32 to asubsequent or previous media element in the linear hypermedia resourceprogram as shown in the map area 30. In one embodiment of the presentinvention, any or all of the areas 30, 32 and 34 are implemented usingWeb frames. Dynamic pages that utilize templates and tables arealternative implementations of the areas 30, 32 and 34 described above.

Utilizing the system of FIGS. 1-2 and 4, methods for navigating andcreating a linear hypermedia resource program are described below.Referring to FIG. 5, one preferred embodiment of a method of navigatinga linear hypermedia resource program is shown. A user may download anddisplay a first base media element in the linear hypermedia resourceprogram (at step 38). In one embodiment, the contents of each programelement of the linear hypermedia resource program are cached in memoryat the common remote information node. The system, via the userinterface 28, responds to additional user commands to download anddisplay other media elements of the first hypermedia resource (at step40). Although the entire hypermedia resource from which one or moremedia elements were preselected as program elements may also be cachedat the common remote information node 16, the media elements that do notmake up the linear hypermedia resource program are preferably accessedusing links to the respective remote information node containing thehypermedia resource.

A forward direction button 36 is displayed to the user on the displaydevice of the subscriber station 18 and the subscriber station receivesa first signal in response to an action of the user that indicates anactivation of the forward link button (at steps 42, 44). If a signal isreceived indicating that the user has selected the forward directionalbutton, a second base media element is downloaded and provided to thesubscriber station (at step 46). As with the first hypermedia resource,the user may download and display selected media elements from thesecond hypermedia resource until satisfied (at step 48). The steps ofresponding to the user command to display a base media element of ahypermedia in a linear hypermedia resource program and, in response tosubsequent commands of a user, to download and display other mediaelements from that hypermedia resource may be repeated many times. Inthis fashion, the user can traverse all of the program elements of thelinear hypermedia resource program including all of the base mediaelements and any desired media elements of each hypermedia resource.

By way of an example for implementing the method described above andshown in FIG. 5, consider a linear hypermedia resource program directedto hypermedia resources on the Internet related to a televisioncelebrity. In this example, the linear hypermedia resource program 23 isan Internet Web path implemented by a internet service provider at acommon remote information node 16. The user starts on the Web path atthe first website, for example, a website showing a type of automobiledriven by the celebrity along with specifications and prices. Thepresentation of the website is within the display area 32 of the userinterface 28. Outside the display area 32, a map area 30 showing othersites along the celebrity Web path is displayed and identifies thecurrent site. In one embodiment of the present invention, a map of theentire linear path is presented. In an alternative embodiment, aselected linear segment 31 of the map is shown. In this fashion, theuser (by means of map zoom-in and zoom-out buttons not shown) can selecta portion of the map of selected size to view by zooming into aparticular site and reviewing it with more detail or zooming out andreviewing the map with more sites but with optionally less detail beingdisplayed per site. In a further alternative, a user, by means ofhighlighting and selecting a particular program element from the maparea 30, can selectively skip forward or backward to a particularprogram element and its corresponding base media element.

The user can activate the forward direction button 36 to go to a secondwebsite on the tour. The second website may display subject matterrelevant to the real life of, or a movie character portrayal by, thecelebrity. If, for example, the celebrity was known to smoke cigars, acigar store website having a variety of cigars for sale via mail ordercan be displayed. As the user progresses through the linear program, theuser may come across a website having little appeal to the user and sothe user may simply hit the forward direction button 36 to proceed alongto the next in the serially linked series of websites. In addition, askip next button (not shown) can likewise allow a user to skip the nextprogram element in the linear program 23 and proceed directly to theprogram element after the next program element. The remaining programelements 25 in the linear program 23 can include website pages forBroadway plays the celebrity acted in, vacations in exotic locationsassociated with the celebrity, pictures of the celebrity in favoriteroles, and so on.

It should be noted that, in one embodiment of the present invention theuser is free to engage hyperlinks that are present in each hypermediaresource. This allows the user to browse any of the individualhypermedia elements of the hypermedia resource as well as other linkedhypermedia resources that may not be on the linear path. In thisembodiment, the activation of the forward or back buttons directs theuser to the next or previous hypermedia resource, respectively, andtherefore allows the user to return to the path provided by the linearprogram 23.

FIG. 6 shows an alternative embodiment of the method illustrated in FIG.5. In this embodiment, the common remote information node 16 solicitsthe user for an experience level. The user interface 28 preferablycontains a user experience level screen 50 that inquires as to a user'sexperience level in browsing hypermedia resources such as the Web. Theexperience level screen 50 provides an experience level menu havingmultiple experience level indicators 52 (see FIG. 7). In the embodimentof FIG. 6, the system displays the experience level menu and receives adesired experience level instruction from the user (at steps 54, 56).Upon receipt of the selected experience level, the common remoteinformation node modifies the set of available commands to accord withthe desired experience level (at step 58).

In one embodiment, selection of a beginner experience level disables alllinks appearing on media elements in the linear hypermedia resourceprogram. This feature discourages users from leaving the path defined bythe program and becoming lost in cyberspace. In an alternativeembodiment, the step of modifying the set of available commands mayinclude disabling Web links between hypermedia resources 20 and onlyallowing a user to peruse media elements 22 within a selected hypermediaresource 20 until the next hypermedia resource 20 in the linearhypermedia resource program is selected through the forward or backdirection buttons 36 in the user interface 28.

After selecting the experience level and modifying the set of availablecommands, the method proceeds in much the same way as described in FIG.5. The system downloads and displays a first base media element (at step60) and downloads and displays selected media elements from the firsthypermedia resource per user commands (at step 62). The node 16 displaysthe forward and back buttons 36 (at step 64) and displays the linearprogram map 30 on the user interface 28 (at step 66). The node 16 waitsto receive a next signal from the user (at step 68) and displays thesecond base media element of the second hypermedia resource in a linearhypermedia program if a first signal is received (at step 70). Thecommon remote information node 16 will then download and displayselected media elements from the second hypermedia resource as directedby user commands received at the user interface (at step 72). The userthen may decide to use the back button to send the signal to the systemthat returns to the previous hypermedia resource (at step 74).Alternatively, if after displaying the first base media elements of thefirst hypermedia resource the user selects an alternative command suchas by selecting a particular program element from the map area 30, thesystem recognizes that command and downloads and displays the base mediaelement that corresponds to the selected program element (at steps 76,78). The system will subsequently download and display any selectedhypermedia resources chosen by the user (at step 80).

While FIG. 6 describes the operation of the present invention in thecontext of one embodiment including a first and second hypermediaresource, one of ordinary skill in the art, based on the teachingsherein, will recognize that this method will similarly apply to a linearprogram 23 of arbitrary length. Further, while the step of displayingthe linear program map is shown as a discrete step, the display of theprogram map can persist during the operation of the method describedabove and can be updated after each new program element is selected fordisplaying the user's position in the linear program. In addition, theback and forward command buttons can likewise be persistently displayedduring the operation of the program.

According to another aspect of the invention, in one embodiment a userat a subscriber station 18 may utilize software at the common remoteinformation node 16 to generate a linear hypermedia resource program. Asshown in FIG. 8, a user may be browsing a distributed hypermedia datanetwork, such as the Web, and simply select a first base media elementof a desired hypermedia resource (at step 82) and then proceed to selecta base media element for a subsequent hypermedia resource (at step 84).The progression of selecting base elements for desired hypermediaresources may continue until the user has accumulated a desired numberof base media elements. At the conclusion of selecting individual basemedia elements, the user is left with a sequence of exclusively linkedhypermedia resources that may be saved for future perusal. Thus, thelinear hypermedia resource program provides advantages over standardbookmark functions available on Internet Web browsers because an entiresequence of websites/Web pages having an exclusive linear path may besaved. Additionally, the entire content of each media element (such as aWeb page) selected may be cached in a memory at the common remoteinformation node operated by the internet service provider (ISP) toaccelerate later retrieval of information.

As shown in FIG. 9, an alternative embodiment of the method shown inFIG. 8 includes the ability to selectively place desired media elementsin desired positions in the linear hypermedia program. Referring toFIGS. 9 and 10, a user may select the first base media element (at step86) and then assign the first base media element to a first programelement in the linear hypermedia program (at step 88). A second basemedia element may then be selected and assigned to a second programelement of the linear hypermedia program (at steps 90, 92).Alternatively, a preferred embodiment allows the user to select a firstbase media element and provide an editing command to the system thatassigns the first base media element to a selected program elementposition (at steps 94, 96). A later base media element can be selectedand the system will receive a command to assign this later selected basemedia element to another selected program element position that mayprecede or follow the previously selected base media element in thelinear hypermedia resource program 23 (at steps 98, 100).

FIG. 11 shows another embodiment of a method for generating a linearhypermedia resource program. Rather than manually allowing a user toselect media elements for inclusion in the linear program elements ofthe linear hypermedia resource program, a user may communicate searchcriteria to a linear hypermedia program service at a remote location. Inone embodiment of the present invention, such as the celebrityapplication described above, Web paths may be created by a professionaldirector from pre-existing or newly created websites or a combination ofboth. In an alternative embodiment, the Web paths may be created by anintelligent agent that operates independently of the user and respondsto the user's suggested topics, likes and dislikes, as well as userpreferences concerning content, properties and quality of websites. Thisservice may be offered by the ISP at the common remote information node16.

When the search criteria are received at the node 16, the professionaldirector or intelligent agent may evaluate media elements to select andorganize, in an exclusive linearly linked fashion, highly relevant mediaelements satisfying the user's search criteria (at steps 102-108). Forexample, a user interested in shopping for furniture on the Webspecifies the types of furniture in which he or she is interested (e.g.,Chippendale breakfront mahogany china cabinets), and the type ofwebsites desired (e.g., furniture stores with websites that show JPEG orMPEG images of the furniture with prices for each piece). Examples ofother suitable file formats are any of a number of known graphics,video, audio and tactile data formats. Preferably, the user has theappropriate hardware and software at the subscriber station to interpretthe electronic media element content into the video, audio, or tactiledomain. A user also preferably designates file information contentchoices in the search criteria. File information content may be used tofilter for Web pages that contain price listings or have the ability toplace secure product orders via credit card. Many other file criteriamay be used to select appropriate media elements. For example, a usercan also specify that information must be presented in a certainlanguage, that suitable websites must have been updated within apredetermined period, and so on.

The user may optionally specify the time frame for generating a desiredlinear hypermedia resource program. For example, the user may requestthat the linear hypermedia resource program be ready by Friday nightthat week. The intelligent agent or professional director works off-lineof the user to create a series of links that define a desirable paththrough a series of websites that meet the user's criteria. Oncecomplete, the linear hypermedia resource program (in this example aserial path of website pages from one or more websites) is delivered tothe user by HTTP or email. The common remote information node mayautomatically notify the user that the program is ready or may wait forthe user to retrieve it.

Internet service providers, or other linear hypermedia program sourcesoffering users custom-made linear hypermedia resource programs, mayoffer linear hypermedia resource programs of different lengths andquality. In order to accommodate different needs and budgets, a methodfor generating a desired linear hypermedia resource program andaccounting for billing information is useful. As FIG. 12 illustrates, auser at a subscriber station 18 initially sends a search request withspecific search criteria to the common remote information node operatedby the ISP (at step 110). The search criteria preferably include thetime frame in which the user desires to receive the linear hypermediaprogram. A sliding scale of cost versus time, in the form of analgorithm or table stored in memory at the common remote informationnode, may then be applied to determine the final cost of generating thelinear hypermedia resource program (at step 112). The media elementsavailable in the distributed hypermedia data network are then analyzedin light of the search criteria (at step 114).

As described above, the step of evaluating the media elements may bedone with an intelligent agent such as a search engine with artificialintelligence capabilities, or may be done manually by personnel at theInternet service provider. Base media elements are then selected fromthe pool of relevant hypermedia resources and then assigned to programelement positions in the linear hypermedia resource program (at step116). The resulting linear hypermedia resource program is thentransmitted from the common remote information node to the subscriberstation (at step 118) and a billing record is also generated at thecommon remote information node of the Internet service provider inaccordance with the time frame requested and scope of the search (atsteps 120). Factors such as processor time, memory requirement for thelinear program, or storage period at a server such as the common remoteinformation node may also be incorporated into the billing record.

FIGS. 13-15 provide a pictorial representation of a linear program,browsing a linear program, and the steps of creating a linear program.FIG. 13 best illustrates browsing the linear program depicted in FIG. 3.As indicated by link selection arrows 122, a user is allowed to browsemedia elements, other than the base media element stored in the linearprogram, in a hypermedia resource using existing Web browser typetechnology. Although a user may be viewing a media element other thanthe initial base media elements of the first type of media resource, theforward and backward selection buttons of the user interface willautomatically invoke the exclusive forward or backward link 27 totransport the user to the base media element 24 of the second selectedhypermedia resource or back to the base media element of the previoushypermedia resource. Assuming the common remote information node 16received the command to move forward to the second hypermedia resource,the user again has the freedom to browse media elements starting withthe base media element in the second hypermedia resource. Again,regardless of the media element presently being viewed in the secondhypermedia resource, selecting the forward or back button in the userinterface will only allow the user to move to the base element of theprior hypermedia resource or of any subsequent hypermedia resource inthe order previously assigned in the linear hypermedia resource program.

Different versions of a method for creating a linear hypermedia resourceprogram are pictorially illustrated in FIGS. 14 and 15. FIG. 14illustrates the ability to select any one of a number of media elementsfrom desired media resources and add the selected media elements to alinear hypermedia resource program. A first media element may beselected from a hypermedia resource and then a user may use a hyper linkto jump to a second hypermedia resource, select a media element from thesecond hypermedia resource, and then the user may decide to implement asearch engine to search the Web and jump to an unrelated thirdhypermedia resource. At the third hypermedia resource, the user canselect any of the media elements to add to the linear hypermediaresource program. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 15, the user may electto add every media element, in the sequence encountered while browsing,to a linear hypermedia resource program.

The various methods described herein, in a preferred embodiment, areintended for operation as software programs running on a computerprocessor. One of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that otherhardware implementations such as application specific integratedcircuits, programmable logic arrays and other hardware devices canlikewise be constructed to implement the methods described herein. Itshould also be noted that the various methods of the present inventioncan be implemented in software, in one of a variety of known computerlanguages, and stored on a tangible storage medium such as a magnetic oroptical disk, read-only memory or random access memory and be producedas an article of manufacture.

As has been described above, a system and method for navigating andcreating linear hypermedia resource programs are provided. The systemand method provide a serial entertainment medium for internet Web usersof all experience levels. A common remote information node such as aserver operated by an internet service provider may generate, and storethe contents of, a linear hypermedia resource program. A user can accessthe program through a user interface from a subscriber terminal. Theprogram, which may consist of Web pages from one or more websites, ispreferably traversed linearly with the user interface. Depending on aselected skill level, various links may be disabled to better guide auser along the predetermined linear path. The method also describesselecting media elements to include and editing their placement in thelinear program. As will be recognized by those skilled in the art, thetype of computers and communications devices used may be any one of anumber of commonly available computers and communications devices. Thecommunications networks for interconnecting hypermedia resources in thedistributed hypermedia resource network may be internet communicationsnetworks or other types of networks.

It is intended that the foregoing detailed description be regarded asillustrative rather than limiting, and that it be understood that thefollowing claims, including all equivalents, are intended to define thescope of the invention.

1. A method for presenting video media elements to a subscriber station,the method comprising: receiving a request from the subscriber stationto present at least one video media element to the subscriber station;selecting a plurality of video media elements for presentation to thesubscriber station, the plurality of video elements including a firstvideo media element and a plurality of second video media elements;creating a first file for use by the subscriber station to create afirst user interface that includes: a first viewing area in which thefirst video media element is presented; and a first map area having aplurality of icons, each icon representative of a corresponding one ofthe plurality of second video media elements, the plurality of iconsavailable for selection to access corresponding video media elements;and transmitting the first file to the subscriber station; receiving amap area selection request from the subscriber station, the map areaselection request corresponding to a selected icon of the first maparea; creating a second file for use by the subscriber station to createa second user interface that includes: a second viewing area in which asecond video media element is presented, the second video elementcorresponding to the selected icon of the first map area; a second maparea having a plurality of icons, each icon representative of acorresponding one of a second plurality of second video media elements,the plurality of icons available for selection to access correspondingvideo media elements; and transmitting the second file to the subscriberstation.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein: receiving the request fromthe subscriber station includes receiving a search criteria; andselecting the plurality of video media elements includes selecting theplurality of video media elements based upon the search criteria.
 3. Themethod of claim 1, wherein: receiving the request from the subscriberstation includes receiving a search criteria and at least one searchpreference; and selecting the plurality of video media elements includesselecting the plurality of video media elements based upon the searchcriteria and the at least one search preference.
 4. The method of claim1, wherein the plurality of video media elements are selected prior toreceipt of the request from the user.
 5. The method of claim 1, whereinat least some of the plurality of video media elements comprise JPEGimages.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein at least some of the pluralityof video media elements comprise MPEG images.
 7. The method of claim 1,wherein each icon of the first map area comprises a frame of acorresponding MPEG image.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein each of theplurality of video media elements for presentation to the subscriberstation resides on a common Web site.
 9. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising creating a billing record indicating creation and transmittalof at least the first file.
 10. A method for presenting video mediaelements to a subscriber station, the method comprising: receiving arequest from the subscriber station to present at least one video mediaelement to the subscriber station; selecting a plurality of video mediaelements for presentation to the subscriber station, the plurality ofvideo elements including a first video media element and a plurality ofsecond video media elements; creating a file for use by the subscriberstation to create a user interface that includes: a viewing area inwhich the first video media element is presented; and a map area havinga plurality of icons, each icon representative of a corresponding one ofthe plurality of second video media elements, the plurality of iconsavailable for selection to access corresponding video media elements;and transmitting the file to the subscriber station.
 11. The method ofclaim 10, wherein: receiving the request from the subscriber stationincludes receiving a search criteria; and selecting the plurality ofvideo media elements includes selecting the plurality of video mediaelements based upon the search criteria.
 12. The method of claim 10,wherein: receiving the request from the subscriber station includesreceiving a search criteria and at least one search preference; andselecting the plurality of video media elements includes selecting theplurality of video media elements based upon the search criteria and theat least one search preference.
 13. The method of claim 10, wherein theplurality of video media elements are selected prior to receipt of therequest from the user.
 14. The method of claim 10, wherein at least someof the plurality of video media elements comprise JPEG images.
 15. Themethod of claim 10, wherein at least some of the plurality of videomedia elements comprise MPEG images.
 16. The method of claim 15, whereineach icon of the map area comprises a frame of a corresponding MPEGimage.
 17. The method of claim 10, wherein each of the plurality ofvideo media elements for presentation to the subscriber station resideson a common Web site.
 18. The method of claim 10, further comprisingcreating a billing record indicating creation and transmittal of thefile.
 19. A computer readable medium comprising a plurality of computerexecutable instructions that, upon execution by at least one digitalcomputer, cause the at least one digital computer to present a fileincluding video media elements to a subscriber station, the plurality ofcomputer executable instructions comprising instructions for: receivinga request from the subscriber station to present at least one videomedia element to the subscriber station; selecting a plurality of videomedia elements for presentation to the subscriber station, the pluralityof video elements including a first video media element and a pluralityof second video media elements; creating a first file for use by thesubscriber station to create a first user interface that includes: afirst viewing area in which the first video media element is presented;and a first map area having a plurality of icons, each iconrepresentative of a corresponding one of the plurality of second videomedia elements, the plurality of icons available for selection to accesscorresponding video media elements; and transmitting the first file tothe subscriber station; receiving a map area selection request from thesubscriber station, the map area selection request corresponding to aselected icon of the first map area; creating a second file for use bythe subscriber station to create a second user interface that includes:a second viewing area in which a second video media element ispresented, the second video element corresponding to the selected iconof the first map area; a second map area having a plurality of icons,each icon representative of a corresponding one of a second plurality ofsecond video media elements, the plurality of icons available forselection to access corresponding video media elements; and transmittingthe second file to the subscriber station.
 20. The computer readablemedium of claim 19, wherein: the computer executable instructions forreceiving the request from the subscriber station include computerexecutable instructions for receiving a search criteria; and thecomputer executable instructions for selecting the plurality of videomedia elements include computer executable instructions for selectingthe plurality of video media elements based upon the search criteria.21. The computer readable medium of claim 19, wherein: the computerexecutable instructions for receiving the request from the subscriberstation include computer executable instructions for receiving a searchcriteria and at least one search preference; and the computer executableinstructions for selecting the plurality of video media elements includecomputer executable instructions for selecting the plurality of videomedia elements based upon the search criteria and the at least onesearch preference.
 22. The computer readable medium of claim 19, furthercomprising computer executable instructions for selecting the pluralityof video media elements prior to receipt of the request from the user.23. The computer readable medium of claim 19, wherein at least some ofthe plurality of video media elements comprise JPEG images.
 24. Thecomputer readable medium of claim 19, wherein at least some of theplurality of video media elements comprise MPEG images.
 25. The computerreadable medium of claim 24, wherein each icon of the first map areacomprises a frame of a corresponding MPEG image.
 26. The computerreadable medium of claim 19, wherein each of the plurality of videomedia elements for presentation to the subscriber station resides on acommon Web site.
 27. The computer readable medium of claim 19, furthercomprising computer executable instructions for creating a billingrecord indicating creation and transmittal of at least the first file.28. A computer readable medium comprising a plurality of computerexecutable instructions that, upon execution by at least one digitalcomputer, cause the at least one digital computer to present a fileincluding video media elements to a subscriber station, the plurality ofcomputer executable instructions comprising instructions for: receivinga request from the subscriber station to present at least one videomedia element to the subscriber station; selecting a plurality of videomedia elements for presentation to the subscriber station, the pluralityof video elements including a first video media element and a pluralityof second video media elements; creating a file for use by thesubscriber station to create a user interface that includes: a viewingarea in which the first video media element is presented; and a map areahaving a plurality of icons, each icon representative of a correspondingone of the plurality of second video media elements, the plurality oficons available for selection to access corresponding video mediaelements; and transmitting the file to the subscriber station.
 29. Thecomputer readable medium of claim 28, wherein: the computer executableinstructions for receiving the request from the subscriber stationinclude computer executable instructions for receiving a searchcriteria; and the computer executable instructions for selecting theplurality of video media elements include computer executableinstructions for selecting the plurality of video media elements basedupon the search criteria.
 30. The computer readable medium of claim 28,wherein: the computer executable instructions for receiving the requestfrom the subscriber station include computer executable instructions forreceiving a search criteria and at least one search preference; and thecomputer executable instructions for selecting the plurality of videomedia elements include computer executable instructions for selectingthe plurality of video media elements based upon the search criteria andthe at least one search preference.
 31. The computer readable medium ofclaim 28, farther comprising computer executable instructions forselecting the plurality of video media elements prior to receipt of therequest from the user.
 32. The computer readable medium of claim 28,wherein at least some of the plurality of video media elements compriseJPEG images.
 33. The computer readable medium of claim 28, wherein atleast some of the plurality of video media elements comprise MPEGimages.
 34. The computer readable medium of claim 33, wherein each iconof the first map area comprises a frame of a corresponding MPEG image.35. The computer readable medium of claim 28, wherein each of theplurality of video media elements for presentation to the subscriberstation resides on a common Web site.
 36. The computer readable mediumof claim 28, farther comprising computer executable instructions forcreating a billing record indicating creation and transmittal of thefile.